Molins, Romero Polo and Leitat win the City of Barcelona’s “21st Century Street Section” urban challenge

• The RePavimenta project leads the transformation of pavements and roadways towards low-carbon, more durable and fully circular models, in line with Barcelona’s 2030 climate goals.

Molins, Romero Polo and Leitat have been named winners of the “21st Century Street Section” urban challenge, launched by the Barcelona City Council and Fundació BIT Hàbitat. The project is part of the city’s Climate Plan strategy and aims to transform street design through innovative, sustainable solutions aligned with municipal climate targets for 2030.

The winning proposal, RePavimenta, introduces a comprehensive transformation of pavements and roadways through the use of innovative low-carbon materials, high percentages of recycled aggregates and components, warm-mix asphalt, steel slag aggregates and low-emission mortars. The project embraces a fully circular approach, covering everything from structural design to the complete reuse of materials at the end of their lifecycle.

RePavimenta has been recognised for delivering a solution currently unavailable on the market, capable of significantly reducing CO₂ emissions and natural resource consumption, while improving structural durability and contributing to lower noise levels and reduced surface temperatures in urban environments. The initiative also stands out for its technical, operational and industrial feasibility, making it a scalable solution for deployment across the local road network and potentially replicable in other cities.

Applied research activities have already begun in early 2026, with pilot testing on public roads scheduled between October 2026 and December 2027. During this period, the three partners will work closely together to validate the solution under real-life conditions and assess its environmental and functional performance across different urban scenarios.

Jordi Altet, Quality and R&D Director of the Concrete & Aggregates and Circular Economy business at Molins, highlights: “RePavimenta allows us to move forward with new construction solutions that significantly reduce the environmental impact of urban infrastructure. The selection of our proposal by the Barcelona City Council reinforces our commitment to sustainable innovation and to transforming urban models towards greater circularity and lower resource consumption.”

Jaume Gasia, Head of R&D at Romero Polo, adds: “RePavimenta represents a step forward in how urban civil works are conceived and delivered, integrating sustainability, circularity and technical performance from the design phase through to execution. For Romero Polo, taking part in this project strengthens our commitment to applied innovation and to public-private collaboration as a driver for more resilient, efficient urban environments aligned with Barcelona’s climate goals.”

Daniel Checa, Senior Researcher in the Sustainability Area at Leitat, explains: “RePavimenta’s environmental performance is assessed through a Life Cycle Assessment carried out in accordance with ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and the European standard EN 15804 for construction products. These methodologies allow us to rigorously quantify environmental impacts and verify the reductions achieved through the use of recycled, local and low-carbon materials. The application of these standards, combined with real-world validation, ensures that environmental improvements go hand in hand with proven functionality and suitability at urban scale.”

The selection of RePavimenta highlights the strategic role of collaboration between industry, construction companies and technology centres in accelerating the transition towards more resilient urban models. With this recognition, Molins, Romero Polo and Leitat reaffirm their commitment to sustainable innovation, the enhancement of public spaces and the development of solutions that contribute to citizens’ wellbeing and the future of Barcelona.

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